Stony Brook surgeons fix Ecuadorean boy's facial deformity

Kevin Rosero, 10, of Ecuador, who came to Stony Brook University Hospital last year for a serious lip, face, and mouth malformation and has gone through a dozen surgeries to correct it, will return home next week. He was sponsored by Blanca's House, a nonprofit organization of volunteer healthcare professionals. Videojournalist: Chuck Fadely (Sept. 13, 2013)

The hospital gave Kevin, a soccer fan, a special send-off by arranging for him to meet the Stony Brook men's soccer team, which gave him a signed ball, T-shirt and a seat on the bench for Friday night's home game against Rhode Island.

"When we heard about Kevin's story, we were truly, truly amazed by the strength and the courage that he's shown -- not just over the last eight months, but throughout the course of his life," Seawolves coach Ryan Anatol said.

Kevin came to Long Island in January under a program operated by Blanca's House, a volunteer organization in Huntington Station focused on improving access to modern health care.

The boy has been living in the Miller Place home of Sheila and Brian Campbell. When he arrived in the United States, Kevin did not speak English, but he attended elementary school and has since become fluent, said Sheila Campbell, a Blanca's House volunteer.

Kevin's doctors, Alexander Dagum and Henry Woo, sitting by the boy as the soccer team lined the wall behind them, said at a news conference Friday that they performed 10 surgeries, not counting dental work, to correct a "massive venous malformation," typically caused by widened, abnormally shaped veins.

Dagum, chief of plastic and reconstructive surgery at Stony Brook, said it's not known what causes the malformations. "We don't know why," he said. "As the child gets older, it gets bigger, for various reasons."

Dagum said it had been "tough" for Kevin growing up, hiding his abnormality under a scarf for years.

"It was hard for him, not only from a functional perspective, but just knowing -- looking at yourself every day," the doctor said. "So, it's a change, and now he's a normal, good-looking boy with no functional issues."